A 2015 graduate of Temple University’s Fox School of Business Global MBA program recently won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Short Film.  

Shpat Deda served as one of five producers on the film, Home, which calls attention to the plight of refugees. The 20-minute film depicts a British family leaving their comfortable life and experiencing uncertainty and violence as refugees. For Deda, a former refugee from Kosovo, the film holds special significance.

“No more than 18 years ago, I and the majority of the Kosovo cast and crew who worked on this film were among the one million Kosovans displaced and turned into refugees as a result of a devastating war that was tearing our country apart,” Deda said. “In our misfortune, though, we were fortunate enough to be living during a time when the world was one of open hearts and open doors. It’s what ultimately saved the lives of so many of us. My hope today is that we can be able to say the same for the millions of refugees out there who are frightened, facing an uncertain future, and without a home at this very moment.”

Deda accepted the BAFTA award along with writer and director Daniel Mulloy at BAFTA’s Feb. 12 ceremony in London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Read more about Home’s other accolades here.

—Christopher A. Vito